Screams Inside the Elevator
by Agwen
Summary: Ayako stepped into the elevator on the third floor.


_Warning for major character death._

* * *

 **Screams Inside the Elevator**

Ayako stepped into the elevator on the third floor.

Her eyes immediately went to a cylindrical ceramic container in the right corner near the elevator buttons; a brown, sturdy pot. It was about the size of a football. The pot had been closed off with a lid, but Ayako didn't care to find out what it contained as her guts told her it was something ghastly.

She preferred to think of it as a pot for pickled vegetables forgotten by an old lady, unlikely as it was in this type of place. Her granny used to keep a rice bran bed in a pot like this one. She would stir the rice bran with her hands every day to make sure to aerate the rice bran in order to keep it from growing moldy. Too bad she never had time to care for one daily. Ayako loved pickles.

With the image of pickled vegetables in mind, Ayako pushed the button to the first floor.

The doors slid closed in front of her. The elevator descended seconds later. The air turned stifling and a subtle odor lingered in it. She put her sleeve against her nose. It would be over soon.

Suddenly the elevator stopped at the second floor.

 _Huh?_

The doors slid open and revealed a boy with rimmed glasses. He blinked at her.

"Yasuhara-kun!" She widened her eyes.

"Good evening, Matsuzaki-san," Yasuhara said with a charming smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

"We were looking for you! Where have you been?"

He stepped in the elevator, and spoke: "I was on the third floor for a while, but for some reason I couldn't find the elevator."

Ayako moved aside and made sure to put some distance between them.

"So then I got down to the second floor using one of the staircases I found," Yasuhara said.

She let out a sigh of relief.

"Really? So you were there the whole time?"

"Yeah, then I kept walking into rounds – until now. I'm glad I found the elevator at last."

She stood near the elevator buttons and the pot. Yasuhara was on the other side. He had his eyes on the closing doors. The elevator descended once again. A feeling of suffocation suddenly came over her. She hunched over a little. _Not again._

"Matsuzaki-san?"

Yasuhara inclined his head a little to look at her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just-"

 _Blink._

 _Blink blink._

Suddenly, darkness fell over them.

"Huh?" Ayako frowned. "What happened to the lights?"

The elevator slowly came to a halt, but they certainly had not arrived at the first floor. The doors did not open either. The only light in the elevator came from the dimly lit elevator buttons.

Silence ensued.

"Um. An outage?" Yasuhara said.

Ayako grimaced.

"…No way."

Suddenly, a cynical voice sounded through the intercom.

" **Matsuzaki-san. Do you hear me?"**

Yasuhara and Ayako stared at the speaker above the buttons.

… _Naru. This is Naru's voice!_

She went into a fit.

"Naru! You owe me an explanation for this!"

"… **Calm down. This happened to everyone."**

She blinked.

"An outage? I didn't notice anything on the third floor."

" **Correct. It's only the elevator."**

"Just my luck." Ayako groaned. "Do you even know how annoying it was to find my way out of here!?"

"… **I'm sure it was for you, Matsuzaki-san."**

His voice was cold and it really irritated her. Next to her Yasuhara looked a little amused.

"You're the one to blame for this, you know?" Ayako complained. "It all happened because Yasuhara-kun disappeared on the first day! He wasn't supposed to stay here in the first place."

Naru let out a ragged breath. **"I'm not here to listen to your complaints. You need to get out."**

She shouted.

"Then call the mechanics! Or whoever is in charge of this place!"

There was a short silence before he replied.

" _ **You**_ **are the mechanic. The only one capable of helping yourself."**

Ayako blinked. "What?"

" **You need to get out by yourself. Do I need to repeat myself?"**

"Just how-"

She reflexively stared up at the ceiling. This is what people did in the movies.

"I'm not going up there if that's what you mean – just get this damn thing started again."

Naru sighed again.

Ayako looked at Yasuhara.

"By the way," she said. "I'm not the only person who needs to get out."

"… **What?"**

"Yasuhara-kun is here too. Wasn't he the one we were looking in the first place?"

"… **What do you mean?"**

"Have you forgotten already? All of us got lost on the third floor, because we saw Yasuhara-kun going in there! Take a look at the damn elevator camera to see us!" she said. "Turns out he was on the second floor the whole time. Why the hell didn't we search there more extensively?"

Naru didn't reply to any of her questions.

" **Hold on."**

"Goodness," Ayako said, and turned to look at the young man beside her. "By the way, weren't you talking to someone off the camera when you got on the third floor?"

"...Yes, it was… the boss," Yasuhara said. "He was the last person I spoke to until I found you here."

"Huh?"

That didn't make any sense.

" **Matsuzaki-san?"** Naru questioned.

"Hey Naru, have you been on the third floor?"

" **No. I was on the first floor and the base the whole time."**

She frowned a little.

"But Yasuhara-kun says you were the last person to have seen him before he saw me. What does it mean?"

Something had to have been said or uttered, but only static came through the intercom.

"Naru?"

Naru didn't reply.

"Are you still there? Answer me!"

"Boss sure sounds odd…" Yasuhara sighed. "I wonder what happened?"

"Damn it!"

Ayako paced around, then breathed in and out. There was no time to get angry at Naru. She was responsible for Yasuhara and herself as well.

Safety first. Safety _always_ came first.

Then she turned to the intercom again. "You know, Naru. I've wandered a good part of the day looking for the others, including Yasuhara-kun, but there was no way out! This building is strange."

Still no reply.

She huffed and folded her arms.

"I'm sorry to say this, Matsuzaki-san," Yasuhara said, hesitantly. "But the one I met outside the elevator may not be Shibuya-san. He lured me out… and then he disappeared."

Ayako blinked.

"What?"

"He was supposed to be in the base? Right?" The young man whispered.

"Huh? Yes, he was…"

"What if the Shibuya-san we hear right now is the fake one? That would account for his odd responses."

Ayako was taken aback by Yasuhara's suggestion. _Fake…? It can't be._

The voice on the intercom continued. They turned around again.

" **Matsuzaki-san. Please listen carefully."**

Ayako waited.

" **It seems that whatever is behind this hid certain parts of the building, including the elevator and stairs. It's the work of shapeshifters."**

"I don't need your theory. Just tell me how to get out!"

" **I'm losing my patience, Matsuzaki-san."** His voice was clearly on the edge.

"And I have lost more than just my patience! Take a good look at my poor feet. No longer smooth - All cracked!" She lifted her foot up and held it up in an angle so that it would be seen by the camera in the corner opposite the buttons. It was still too dark inside the elevator, so it proved to be useless.

"Calm down," Yasuhara said with a reassuring smile. "If he's really the boss I'm sure that he will save us."

She put her foot in her shoe again.

"Right."

Naru continued, **"There were several shapeshifters inside the building. They were able to replicate anything inside of it, but they grew weaker. Mai, Lin, Bou-san, Hara-san, and John took care of the majority."**

Ayako took a moment to process this.

"What does that mean?"

" **There's only one left. If Mai can handle it, you can handle one too with ease."**

She huffed.

"Fine. But promise me to apologize to each one of us after this is over. Especially Yasuhara-kun. That guy doesn't have anything to defend himself with. It's a miracle he's here!"

Yasuhara chuckled a little. "Yeah, I'm really quite useless in that respect."

"… **I know I'm responsible for this. I'll… apologize to Yasuhara-san after you get out."**

"Okay, what do I do?"

" **Please use the kuji on the person next to you and the elevator will move."**

"What- Why?!" Ayako exclaimed.

" **It's not Yasuhara-san."**

Ayako stared at Yasuhara. He was visibly shocked. Then he turned to look at her with frightened eyes.

She instinctively stepped away.

"Please don't…. Don't listen to him," Yasuhara begged. "These shapeshifters inside this building can replicate your body, voice and even your personality. I believe they've replicated all of us here by now. I've seen most of the others outside though, so all of them are safe – except us and the boss."

"No way…"

"It looks like they even got to the boss. They even know how to operate an intercom."

" **Don't listen to them. Use your kuji."**

"I don't believe you!"

" **It's not Yasuhara-san!"** The voice nearly screamed.

"No way. Don't you see him?"

" **I can only see you on the elevator camera."**

"This is Yasuhara-kun. You should be able to see him! You know I can't do it! It would probably injure – or worse - kill him!"

Ayako didn't want to have blood on her hands.

" **He won't…"** the voice paused. **"Just do it, Matsuzaki-san. There's only one more left… This one's already weak. Put an end to it."**

"You are fake aren't you. You're the shapeshifter!"

The voice on the intercom groaned.

"… **Matsuzaki-san. Believe me."**

"How can I be sure?" she asked.

"Well, you could ask him something personal," Yasuhara suggested.

"Ask something personal? What-"

"I'll leave that to your imagination."

She unconsciously moved her feet in irritation and touched something.

Ayako looked down at the floor to see what had touched it. She moved her foot away from the pot. A very faint smell of ash came from it. Yasuhara peered at it as well with a blank expression on his face.

"What's that?" he asked.

Ayako ignored him. Now's not the time for that.

A personal question.

She sighed and looked at the intercom.

"Hey Naru, I've been wondering for a while. Who do you like?"

There was a pause.

"… **Ask a different question."**

"See? He's evading the question." Yasuhara pointed out. "Who could it be?'

"Is it Mai? Tell me! It was always her, right?!"

There was no response.

"Hey!"

" **The one I like is…"**

Ayako waited. He was actually answering this?

"… **in the elevator."**

It wasn't Mai? She frowned. Yasuhara suddenly started laughing.

"So it likes Matsuzaki-san!"

"That's…" Ayako turned to look at the young man.

 _No way, Naru doesn't like me at all._ The voice was wrong.

Even so, why was Yasuhara assuming it would be her, and not— No. The real Naru wouldn't admit to liking a shapeshifter, so what the hell was going on? Both of their responses were odd.

" **Satisfied, Matsuzaki-san?"** The cynical voice over the intercom continued.

"I…."

" **Now ask the shapeshifter something it could not know about me."**

That should obviously be…

She turned to Yasuhara.

"What's Naru's name?"

"Huh?"

"Tell me his name."

"Shibuya-san, right?"

"His full name."

"Shibuya Kazuya."

"His real name."

"Shibuya Kazuya," Yasuhara said, somewhat annoyed. "Please ask another question, I'm bored already."

Her eyes widened.

No way. But he looked _so real_.

Ayako leaned against the wall, near the buttons, the furthest away from him.

" **Please, the kuji."** The intercom ordered.

She lifted her fingers decisively.

"You got it."

Ayako started cutting the air as she uttered the nine syllables.

"Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai"

As each syllable hit, his body launched further backwards until it the wall.

"Jin, Retsu, Zai"

His knees gave in. The underlegs seemed to disappear into the floor.

"Zen!"

The entirety of 'Yasuhara' crumbled in front of her into a puddle.

" **Good job, Matsuzaki-san. I will see you at the entrance."**

The lights went on again. The puddle had disappeared, along with the oppressive atmosphere in the elevator. She breathed out and slid down on the floor.

* * *

It took a long time until the elevator moved to the first floor.

The elevator doors opened. She got up.

Naru stood there.

"Goodness. That took you a while."

However, Naru didn't even glance at her. His eyes were downcast.

"Matsuzaki-san, go to the others. They are outside," he said with a cold voice.

"I was about to do that. No need to tell me!"

"Takigawa-san… No, Lin will fill you in on the details."

Ayako stepped out. To her surprise Naru passed her by and entered the elevator.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to apologize to Yasuhara-kun? The real one."

Naru did not reply and merely stared down at the pot in the corner of the elevator. He looked at it for a moment before he went down on a knee and picked it up from the floor. Just before the elevator closed, she could hear the following words leave his mouth:

"I'm so sorr-"

She watched the elevator doors for a moment.

"What…"

Naru did not push a button to move the elevator. The elevator simply stood still on the first floor

For a moment she wanted to push the button to open the elevator, but something inside her prevented her from doing just that. A feeling of dread had filled her. A burnt smell invaded her nose again and it drove her crazy. Did it come from the furnace?

Then she heard those awful cries coming out of the elevator.

… _Naru?_

Ayako couldn't make out the words within the muffled screams and sobs. But even if the doors were open, she doubted she would have been able to understand it. She could picture him hunched over the small pot, cradling it in his hands.

A clear voice called from behind her.

"Matsuzaki-san. Leave him be."

She turned around.

Lin stood there in the door opening.

"Lin-san?"

He slowly shook his head. There was a sad gleam in his eyes.

 _No, it can't be._

She wordlessly walked into his direction. Her insides suddenly turned and she stumbled. The man took her arm, and supported her until she could stand upright. Lin carefully took her outside by the shoulders until they made it outside. It was the type of kindness she'd never ever expected him to show to her.

The other ones – Mai, Masako, Takigawa and John - stood somewhere in the garden, grieving solitarily, or comforting one another.

"You were the last one," Lin said, letting go of her shoulder. "He didn't make it."

She couldn't reply.

Lin walked back to the van, unable to offer words of comfort to her.

Ayako stood there for a long time, watching him go until he disappeared out of her vision.

Then she looked back at the elevator inside the crematorium.

It still hadn't opened.

* * *

 **Author's note**

Welp, I killed off my favorite character and one of my favorite ships... There's a first time for everything! ...Please don't hate me.

I wrote this in response to a prompt for the Ghost Hunt Prompt Meme Challenge 1: Parapsychology on AO3. See my profile for more information on these challenges.

The prompt was:

shape-shifting: Paranormal ability to assume the form of another person, an animal or other entity. See also lycanthropy, therianthropy, werewolf.


End file.
